


Photosynthesis

by Followyourwaytodawn, Kahazel



Series: Witchy Flowershop au [1]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, But only in one chapter so far, Canon-Typical Violence, Evil Plans, Language of Flowers, M/M, Magic, Misunderstandings, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-29
Updated: 2019-03-11
Packaged: 2019-05-30 12:59:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15097208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Followyourwaytodawn/pseuds/Followyourwaytodawn, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kahazel/pseuds/Kahazel
Summary: "Can I help you?" Sora jolted out of his daze and spun around to see who was talking. He found a man standing behind a large wooden counter that was carved similarly to the exterior door. Long silver hair pulled back low with a piece of twine and rested over his right shoulder, he looked just as astoundingly beautiful as the rest of his shop. Dressed in lavender and earthy greens, he almost blended in with the mass of flowers next to him. Almost. He raised an eyebrow, as if to question Sora's staring.Sora shook himself out of his daze and walked toward the counter, "Hi, yes, you're the wizard, right? I'm a trader and I was hoping you could give me directions to-" Sora stopped mid question. The man, Riku wasn't it, was actually glaring at him, arms crossed, and stiff posture. "Wha-"





	1. Chapter 1

Sora took one look at his surroundings and knew immediately that he was in the wrong place. He was on his way to make a delivery to a city called Valespur from another town. And while he had never been there, he knew this town was  _not_ Valespur. According to what the client had told him, it was a genuine city. Stone wall, major river just to the left, everything cities had including a bustling marketplace where people haggled and bartered to get lowest prices for their goods. 

This was a town. No wall, no marketplace, just a deep forest to one side and a wide lake to the other. That was the last time Sora took directions from a hermit. 

He sighed and walked toward the town anyway, hoping to ask someone for directions. As a trader, he had a pretty good relationship with most of the towns surrounding his own. Recently, he had opened his business to making deliveries for certain trusted clients, which meant moving into new territories. Even if this town was not his ultimate destination, there was a good reason to make nice with the townsfolk. It was a way to improve his client list, or even take an extra job to Valespur if someone needed.

 

 

At the entrance of the town, there was the usual watchman, hoping to keep the peace. Sora stopped to ask him the town name and if anyone from the town was well traveled who could help him out.

"Well, this here is Baumhain. There are a few tradesmen who come through here, but the last one left yesterday. Ya just missed her," the watchman told him, giving a shrug. Sora groaned, and the watchman raised an eyebrow. "Hm, 'less you wanna talk to the wizard- er- witch, whatever he is. His name is Riku. He's the only one in town who travels kinda often."

Sora perked up at the prospect of someone being able to help, "Where can I find him?"

Following the watchman's directions through town, Sora found himself on the far edge near the forest a good bit away from the rest of the town center. Tucked away in a covering of greenery, the two story stone building had wide glass windows on the bottom floor, displaying a wide range of potted plants and flower arrangements. The door was carved in an intricate pattern of vines reining together to form shapes and knots. It was heavy under Sora's hands as he pushed it open. 

The inside of the building looked like a garden itself. Dried plants hung from the ceiling, tables lined with all kinds of flowers covered the space. Several large bags of dried herbs sat in the corner with a shelf holding a weight scale and small silk woven bags. In the windows, several small crystals dangled from string at varying heights, catching the light and making colors dance across the shop. And the fragrance. It was not overwhelming, but just enough to make him feel comforted and relaxed. Sora stared in wonderment. It was gorgeous. He had never seen anything like it.

"Can I help you?" Sora jolted out of his daze and spun around to see who was talking. He found a man standing behind a large wooden counter that was carved similarly to the exterior door. Long silver hair pulled back low with a piece of twine and rested over his right shoulder, he looked just as astoundingly beautiful as the rest of his shop. Dressed in lavender and earthy greens, he almost blended in with the mass of flowers next to him. Almost. He raised an eyebrow, as if to question Sora's staring.

Sora shook himself out of his daze and walked toward the counter, "Hi, yes, you're the wizard, right? I'm a trader and I was hoping you could give me directions to-" Sora stopped mid question. The man, Riku wasn't it, was actually  _glaring_  at him, arms crossed, and stiff posture. "Wha-"

"First, it's  _witch._ I'm an earth  _witch._ " He snapped. The flowers around him took on a darker, more muted color. Sora would have questioned it if the man had not continued. "Second, if you are not here to make a purchase, I'm going to have to ask you to leave. My business is not in charity." Sora was taken aback at the sharpness of his tone.

"I-I'm sorry, have I done something to offend you? I'm not from here, did I miss something?" He tried apologizing. Being foreign usually gave tradesmen a pass for missing a custom, as long as they learned their mistakes. Sora had barely said anything to him, how could he have offended him?

Riku sniffed indignantly, "Surely you don't enter every place of business and not comment on their wares before asking anything else? That's uncommonly rude. Especially if you carry a business yourself." 

Sora's eyebrows furrowed, "Excuse me, I'm lost, I was looking for help-"

"You'll find none here. The door is there, take your leave," the witch pointed to the door, and it flung open. 

"Fine!" Sora stomped his foot before turning to leave. He felt childish for wanting to get in the last word, but he found himself shouting, "Your flowers are wilted anyway!" before slamming the door. At least it was true; the flowers on the counter looked worse and worse over the course of their argument to the point of wilting.

Sora stomped back to the town center, pacing his anger off and grumbling to himself. He realized he was causing a scene, but he was lost and angry and had nothing else he could do! Stupid witch and his stupid flowers- uhg!

An older woman exited a building nearby and noticed him. Looking around before approaching, she gave him a kind smile, "Dear oh dear, what's the matter? You're not from around here are you?"

Sora’s demeanor softened at her approach, but the frustrated crease between his eyebrows stubbornly stayed in place. He took a deep breath and spoke.

“I’m lost ma’am, would you happen to know which direction Valespur is in?”

 “I’m afraid not dear, I’m not very good with directions these days. But, there is a witch near the edge of the forest who may be able to point the way for you. He receives customers from all over and is fairly traveled.” The old woman answered kindly.

Sora huffed, crossing his arms petulantly. “The one with the wilted flower shop? He nearly threw me out before I even asked for help! The last thing he’ll want is to see me again, I’m lucky he didn’t send me off with a curse or something. I’ve met a couple of people with curses and it’s never pretty.”

“A curse!” The elderly woman bubbled out with laughter, “Why, in all my years of knowing Riku he’s never even cursed a weed growing in his garden. I can’t imagine he’d use his magic for darkness.”

The affectionate tone the old woman had for the witch baffled Sora. He himself didn’t have much by the way of family, but he imagined this to be the tone a doting grandmother would adopt and he briefly wondered what Riku did to earn this affection.

“But, the boy is, headstrong.” She continued wisely, “You may have insulted him unintentionally. Witches are proud people and to ignore their craft could be taken as offence.”

Sora “ohhed” in understanding. That still left him with the same problem though. He didn’t want to be stuck in Baumhain for long with goods that need to be delivered. Back tracking was an option, but that would put him several days behindx. The trail he took to get here was stony and unpacked, unsuited for caravans to roll though for him to hitch a ride with to save time.

The old woman chuckled softly seeing the boy’s expressions flicker as the gears turned in his mind. She patted his face softly bringing his eyes back to her.

“Cheer up young man. Travelers come every few weeks, but my son goes to meet his fiancé in Valespur quite often and he should be back day after tomorrow- I’m sure he’ll be happy to give you directions. You can even stay in his room if you need a place to stay; there’s not much by the way of inns and I know he wouldn’t mind you taking his bed while he’s gone.”

“That, would be very kind of you,” he beamed.

She took Sora’s hand and tucked it in into the crook of her elbow while she lead the way through high walled cobblestone streets.

Her home was a quaint tudor style cottage with brick along the bottom half and long flowerpots underneath the windowsills with tiny purple cosmos flowers spilling out - Sora pouted when she told him it was Riku who sold her the flowers.

Inside was just as cozy. Hand knit afghans rested on nearly every piece of overstuffed furniture in an array of styles and colors, picture frames adorned the walls displaying smiling red headed children and their parents, and the smell of fresh bread made the air heavy like a blanket. They had a simple meal of split pea soup while she told Sora about herself, her family and life in Baumhain. Some of her family was still in Baumhain. Her name was Carole, she had a daughter and a few grandchildren here in town- the rest of her children were spread out and her son was in the process of moving to Valespur and starting his own family there. She used to be a horse veterinarian and even won a few trophies for riding, but retired thirty years ago when a kick to the leg crippled her for many months. She walks well enough now, but on rainy days the ache returns so she stays chair bound knitting to keep her occupied or spending time with her granddaughter.

Sora listened to her talk amiably sharing a few stories of his own and before they knew it night settled in.

“There are extra blankets, in the armoire, if you get cold.” She said between puffing breaths as she ascended the stairs. “It gets a little drafty, the windows, don’t shut properly I’m afraid.”

When they arrived Sora set his large pack next to the bed and examined the windows. “It looks like there’s some splintering wood that’s keeping it from shutting all the way. I can fix that for you if you like, I’m really good with my hands!”

“Oh that would be wonderful!”

“Is there anything else that needs fixing?”

Carole tutted and placed a few more blankets on the bed for him. “I can think of a few things.”

The next day Sora set to work. At his insistence she gave him task after task of small chores to help around the house. He worked to the point where she had to pull him away to feed him a sandwich and some juice which he swallowed down before the plate seemed to touch the table. He ran around town getting sanding paper from a store to smooth out the window frames, borrowed wrenches from neighbors to fix a leaky faucet in the kitchen, lubricated creaky door hinges, flushed out the rain gutters, cleaned out ashes from her fireplace, he even picked the lock of a music box she lost the key for like it was something he was made to do.

Finally around late afternoon Carole ran out of things for him to do. “I’m making you a wonderful dinner tonight.” She announced with determination, “You have a journey ahead of you tomorrow and you certainly earned it.”

Sora linked his fingers behind his head and tilted a little to the left with a grin. “Well, maybe it’s a good thing I was shooed away by that cranky witch after all. An extra day in a new town is kind of fun, and I like making friends.”

Carole patted his cheek. “I’m sure it was just a misunderstanding. You’re a very good boy, and so is Riku. You both have this warm light about you, I think you’d be good friends given the right circumstance.”

“I doubt it.” He shrugged. “He basically told me to never come back.”

Sora cleaned himself up and they set off to the market to get ingredients for a nice fish dinner. They picked up some fresh vegetables and were about to enter the fishmonger’s shop when a flash of silver caught Carole’s eye. A mischievous grin tugged her face and she placed a few copper coins in Sora’s hand.

“Why don’t you go in and purchase the fish?” She offered with a slight push, “My feet are tired from all this walking and since you’re from an island you must have excellent taste.”

As soon as he was in the store she hurried to find what she saw. After passing an accessory shop and a little boutique, she turned the corner and spotted who she was looking for.

“Riku.” She called out a little breathlessly from exertion. “It’s so rare to see you in the town, what could possibly bring you away from the forest?”

Riku blushed a little embarrassed, “Good evening Mrs. Laselle.” He greeted with a small bow of his head, an old fashioned gesture she recognized her parents used to do, “Medicine. A client came for a remedy a few days ago and is too sick to pick it up.”

“That’s very kind of you. I just met a little traveler who makes deliveries, he could be a help for you with these kinds of things in the future.”

Riku hmmed a bit awkwardly. “Perhaps. Well, I must be off.”

Carole could tell he felt uncomfortable being this far away from his shop. She could probably count the number of times he left his safe little edge of the forest and it pained her to see a good man like this isolate himself from other people.

“I was wondering,” Carole caught his attention mid step, “I haven’t been able to visit since your wonderful shop since it’s a rather far walk for me, and my cosmos are so beautiful, would you care to see them and have dinner tonight?”

He paused looking troubled for a moment, “Thank you, but I really must go back to my-,”

“It won’t be more than a few hours.” She insisted with a hopeful twinkle in her eyes. “I can show you pictures of my new grandchildren.”

“Well,” Riku’s shoulders sagged a little, submitting to her plea. “I suppose just for a little while…”

“Oh splendid!” She took his hand in her warm and wrinkled one. “I’ll get supper started quickly and you can entertain my young guest.”

“Guest?”

At that moment Sora skidded around the corner and recognized Carole’s shawled shoulders. “Here you are Carole! I was looking all over for you, look! I don’t know how, but they had Allural Sea Bass and-”

Sora stopped in his tracks and gaped when his eyes met Riku’s, his face making the same uncomfortable expression as the dead fish looking up from the basket.

Carole grinned linking Sora’s arm in her other free one as she began to tote them both back to her home looking highly pleased with herself. “Good news Sora, Riku agreed to have dinner with us!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dinner and discoveries~

Dinner found them sitting across from one another at Carole's little square dining table. Sora, arms crossed and leaned back, still pouted petulantly and looked anywhere but at the other guest. Riku sat with sagging shoulders and straight back in his chair, nervously twisting the napkin in his lap. Sora had insisted that he help his hostess with dinner to avoid the witch, but she shooed him away immediately. Reluctantly, he had dragged his feet all the way to the table and avoided any sort of conversation.

 A bump from the kitchen made Sora perk up, "Carole, are you sure you don't want any help?" His chair scraped against the ground as he pushed it back. He was about to stand when she called to stop him.

 "Heavens, no, I would never ask a guest to help with their own meal! Not in my home!" The cheerfulness he voice carried caused Sora to smile to himself. Turning back to the table, he noticed Riku levelled him with a cold look.

 "What?" Sora asked flatly, inwardly rolling his eyes.

Riku sighed, "You really have no respect do you? Calling an elder by her first name. That's-"

 Already tired of his berrating, Sora interrupted him before he could continue, "That's what happens when people make  _friends_. Not that you would understand how to do that,  _Riku."_ Harsh, he knew, but someone had to say it. Riku scowled and averted his gaze, twisting the napkin in his hands tighter. 

 Sour mood returned, Sora let himself stew until Carol bought out their dinner, humming to herself jovially. Her hands protected by two oven mits, she set the hot dish down in the center of the table before looking quizically up at her little chandelier, "Alright, which one of you is dimming my lights with your foul mood?" She sent a pointed look to each boy.

 "Huh?" Sora looked up, mood forgotten by the curiousness of her question. Just then, the lights flickered brighter, returning the room to normal level of lights. His eyes took a moment to adjust, but he realized he could see a lot more details of the room than he could a moment ago.

Carole chuckled, taking her seat, "That's a splendid gift! It reminds me of stories my mother used to tell me about when she was a girl, before we had even the smallest lamps! A magician who could bend light lived in town. Every night, he would catch the last rays, so they could see when it got dark. He could make them take shapes and follow people around town! Once ,he made my mother a rabbit from light. It zipped around next to her the whole evening til she went to bed and was gone in the morning." She smiled at the memories.

 "Oh, but when he drank too much and got himself too worked up- she said everything around him went dark. Some people thought him a demon of sorts-" she continued her stories, unaware that their attention was drawn elsewhere. 

  "You... have magic."

 Sora looked away from Carole because Riku's quiet, indecipherable tone drew his attention. "Wha- No? I don't... think so?" Suddenly uncertain, Sora thought back if that had ever happened before, and nothing remarkable came to mind. Sora pressed both hands to the well-worn surface of the table, "That's new. I've never..." He trailed off not knowing how else to explain this experience.

 Riku nodded slowly, looking as if he had something to say before abruptly standing. "Mrs. Laselle, I appreciate your time in cooking this meal, but I am afraid I must go. Please, do enjoy yourselves," he bowed his head, turned, and left before Carole could make any sort of protest.

 As they heard the door close, she huffed, "Well now, I see what you meant. He is in a bit of an odd mood. I'll have some food delivered to him later. No matter! We can enjoy this fish you picked out now," she said, rebuilding the earlier cheerfulness. She reached out toward the dish and began serving a good sized helping first to Sora, then to herself.

They ate and talked; Sora was very complimentary of the way the fish was cooked. He only half listened to more of Carole's tales about her grandchildren, his mind still reeling at the possibility of he himself having magic. When they finished, Sora told her to sit back because he was cleaning the dishes. She laughed and laughed and finally acquiesced to his help with that part of the meal. 

 As he was cleaning in the kitchen, Sora's thoughts wandered to the possibilities. Did he really do that? Could he have really controlled the light? Would he be able to do those things the magician from Carole's story could? Why had he never experienced this before now? His rapid questions came to a halt when he heard a knock at the door. Carole opened it, inviting Riku back inside with a tome in his hands.

From the safety of the kitchen Sora heard Carole’s muffled voice greet and welcome Riku back into the house. Inwardly panicking, he picked up a plate that was already dry and started rubbing it with the damp towel cloth in an attempt to feign business and not to go out. Maybe Riku just forgot something and would leave quickly once he picked it up. He tried to make himself as quiet as possible to try and avoid drawing attention to himself, hoping whatever Riku and Carole were speaking of wouldn’t involve hi-

“Sora dear!” Carole’s voice carried through the house, “Would you come here for a moment?”

Of course not. He stifled a groan and set the plate back in the cupboard with the others. He walked to the entrance, dragging his feet a little before meeting Riku’s gaze with a small frown and turned to Carole questioningly.

“I think I’m going to brew some tea.” She walked back to the kitchen with that same pleased smile she wore earlier that evening.

Sora and Riku now stood alone in the hallway. When Sora looked up from his shoes, he saw Riku staring intensely at him- not angry like before, but analytical. His forest green eyes seemed to penetrate straight into Sora’s bones, and it made him feel like a strange insect being examined.

“If you’re not going to say anything I’m leaving,” Sora mumbled testily.

When that brought no response, he turned to leave before stopping when Riku called his name. He endured another tense minute of silent staring. He wondered what in the world Riku wanted, why he was just standing there, watching him fidget and squirm like he was waiting for something to happen.

The light flickered when he let out a huff of displeasure now ready to storm away even if Riku called him back.

“Interesting.”

“What?” Sora snapped harsher than necessary.

Riku ignored his tone of voice and held out the tome which Sora hesitated to take.

He reached for it as if it were a snake ready to bite him and gave it a suspicious look. “What is this?” Sora asked, voice clipped in frustration.

“A spell. Magic is a… rare trait to inherit.” Riku answered slowly as he thought of what to say before stringing the words together. “It shouldn’t be wasted, even on rude kids unfamiliar with magical customs.”

That last part made Sora’s whole demeanor flip like a switch. He brought the tome to his chest and oddly enough began laughing. “You’re so weird! Can’t you even give presents to people without sounding pretentious- I’m maybe a year younger than you!” He said between chuckles before adding in a teasing voice, “Maybe I’m not the only one who’s unaware of customs.”

It was Riku’s turn to pause. That was probably true. Plants were much easier to communicate with than people. There were no words to misunderstand or tones of voice to take offense to, there were just, emotions to feel. In his opinion it was a purer form of communication.

“If you don’t want it then give it back.”

He reached to take it away but Sora held the tome to his chest and turned away, shielding it from Riku’s grasp.

“No way! You can’t just take back a present after it’s given! Besides, I wanna learn. If I have magic I wanna know how to use it.”

“It’s not a question if you have it or not. The question is, do you have what it takes to hone it.”

The statement came out as a challenge, one that had Sora smirking with determination.

At that moment Carole walked back into the hallway with a covered plate in her hands.

“It’s so nice to see the two are becoming such good friends. I was a little worried for a moment but I think my instincts are right about the two of you.”

The boys gave each other uncomfortable glances before shifting slightly away- Riku’s blush made his skin pale skin blotchy and red, while Sora’s just made the freckles on his cheeks more pronounced.

“I wouldn’t necessarily say-”

“We’re not-”

“Now now.” Carole interrupted and plopped the plate in Riku’s hands- it was heavier than he expected and still warm. “It’s getting quite late. You get home and enjoy that Riku, I know you like vegetables, so there’s an extra helping. I’ll send Kairi over for the plate later.” She smiled kindly at him and turned to Sora, “And you young man, I think it’s time to thank Riku for his gift and get to bed. You’ve been much too helpful to this old woman today you look exhausted dear, you’ll need a lot of rest before your journey tomorrow.”

Sora nodded, noticing now that he was extremely tired. “Th-” After taking a deep breath he looked straight in Riku’s eyes with confidence. “Thank you. I’ll study this.”

* * *

Carole’s son arrived late in the morning the following day. He was a tall string bean of a man with cropped red hair that had a burgundy tinge just like the rest of the family. He drew Sora a map and explained the way to get to Valespur, another five day journey to the west. Shortly after, it was time Sora bade Carole goodbye. She sent him off with a helping of leftover fish, some bread and a wedge of cheese the size of his fist. She kissed him tenderly on the cheek and made him promise to visit her if he came back which he easily agreed to.

Sora walked and walked, missing the company of Carole but happy to have fond memories with her. The trail was packed which was good because it made it easy for a quick pace so he could hopefully save a little time. When the sun was starting to dip below the clouds he found a spot to settle down in some soft grass a little ways from the trail and pulled out gear to settle for the night. Finally he took out the tome, something he was eagerly waiting for all day, and started to read.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave us a comment and tell us what you liked! We love hearing from y'all!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not everything is as it seems, and not all friends are forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A couple days late, we apologize! We were travelling when it was supposed to release, but hopefully we'll be able to maintain our typical upload schedule from now on! :D

Sora awoke suddenly the next morning, cheek pressed to the pages of the great tome. Settling both his palms on the ground, he pushed himself up to sit. He yawned and stretched, blinking in the early morning light. It wasn't the comfiest place to rest, especially after staying with Carole, but it was something.

His eyes searched the pages to find the last thing he remembered reading. They contained a lot of confusing explanations about focusing energy and remaining calm for best effect. There were even entire languages he did not understand, symbols and sigils from old civilizations that he could not translate. Nevertheless, he absorbed all that he could. He almost loathed travelling that day because he would be unable to spend time reading.

 He closed the tome and gently ran his hand over the intricately embossed surface. This book carried so much knowledge he had yet to understand. Begrudgingly, he decided he may have to pay Riku a visit on his way home. It was his book, so he _must_  have understood all that it contained.

He gently packed the time away in the main pouch of his bag and grabbed the block of cheese and a bit of bread out of a smaller one. He sat back and munched on what he considered a light travel breakfast. 

After he finished and packed up, his journey began again, this time with a little more guidance. With the map in hand, he followed a trail that appeared well travelled, due to the tightly packed dirt and absence of rocks. He walked for about a half a day before he met a caravan at a crossroads that was heading the same way. He talked his way into hitching a ride. That took a good bit of time off of the typically five day journey.

They stopped off in a smaller town to get food and supplies. Sora helped load things into the caravan as a way to repay their help. Soon, they were on their way again. 

Riding on the back, Sora pulled out the tome, reading every time he got a chance. He was unable to follow any spells or tricks because much of it was in foreign or old language. Frowning, Sora wondered if Riku threw him out for asking for simple directions, how would he react to being asked to translate ancient words?

 He turned the page and found a pressed flower. He gently picked it up and turned it over. Looking to the page, the spell contained in the pages still made very little sense to him, but he did see that very same flower drawn next to th he words. Was it needed in the spell? Sora put the flower back and continued reading, thinking nothing of it.

Eventually, he parted ways with the caravan as it headed off to a different place. Sora was about a day and a half ahead of pace, which really helped offset the days he spent in Baumhain. He might actually end up in Valespur on schedule! His clients would be grateful for that.

Travelling on foot the next two days exhausted him, but he still could not contain his excitement as he finally, finally approached the gates to the high-walled city. This time, official guards stood at the wide gateway within the wall, checking all who wished enter the city. As Sora neared the checkpoint, a guard stopped him.

"State your name and business."

"Oh, I'm Sora, a trader from the islands. I'm here on behalf of my clients." He said as professionally as possible.

The guard eyed his pack, "Do you carry weapons?"

"Huh? No, no weapons. I'm just a curios merchant, basically." Sora responded. He knew many merchants and traders travelled with protection, but Sora had never had an issue. He had considered it once, but his good were not of that much value. He figured he could run and leave his pack, if necessary.

The guard motioned to his pack, "Open that, it must be cleared." Sora pulled it off and let the guard rifle through it. He pulled out the tome and the deliveries, checked each smaller pouch. Upon completing the check, he roughly threw everything back in the bag.

"Hey, careful with those!" Sora admonished. The guard said nothing as he handed the bag back to him.

"Proceed."

 Sora huffed, slipping his pack back onto his shoulders. He marched through the short tunnel after the gateway. As it opened up, Sora gasped at the sight. The city was amazing. Two and three story buildings lined the street. Colored latice work along the sides of each building highlighted their windows and strong structures. People dressed in all kinds of different fashions walked along the sidewalks. Ladies in long, vibrant dresses and feathered hats giggled as they passed. Strange carts that moved on their own, that  _had_  to be magic! Dumbstruck, Sora just stood there, taking it all in.

 An arrow shaped sign caught his attention, written in bold letters "Market Street" sat in the middle of the sign. Sora began drifting towards that street as his business was that direction, still in awe of everything around him. 

The market bustled with people and noise. Merchants shouting their wares to call in customers and customers haggling with stubborn sales. Carts and caravans and stalls as far as he could see. Fruit, fish, vegetables, tools, rugs, clothes, dried meats, live animals, everything one could hope to find was there.The large open area was surrounded by buildings full of steady businesses that could afford a permanent space. Sora walked the space between the buildings and the stalls, hoping to easily find one of the vendors he was making deliveries to.

Shaking out of his daze, Sora decided to find his client when building to his left caught his eye. It was a book shop. The glass panes of the open door glitter invitingly, and Sora's mind was suddenly away from business. The tome in his bag felt heavier as he thought, maybe just maybe someone in that shop could help him understand it. His feet were off the sidewalk and up the stairs before he could think any longer. Determined to find help, he strode right up to the shop keep, an elderly, balding man, and asked "Excuse me, do you know anything about magic books?"

The man looked up at him from the counter, "Magic books? Why would you want anything to do with those?" His voice was low and scratchy, it lacked the kind quality one expected from a fellow so old. It put Sora on edge, but out of politeness he continued.

"I've just recently found out I have some magic and-" he quickly slipped his pack off one shoulder and brought it around to dig the tome out of it, "-and I was given this book. But I don't understand it." He showed the shopkeeper the embossed cover. The man leaned in reaching for the book, but Sora pulled it away, "Oh, I'm sorry, this isn't mine, so..."

A gleam passed over his eyes that made Sora shiver. He was suddenly very aware that there were no other people in the shop. Something serpantine and yellow twisted in the man's eyes as he said, "Oh, then you must come speak with my colleague, he will help you. In the back of my shop. Surely you will find your answers there." He smiled a most crooked grin, Sora stepped back.

"A-actually, I have clients waiting on me, so I-" as he stepped back once more he bumped into a very solid mass. Sora looked behind him to find a very solidly built man, nearly two feet taller than him. On his right arm, what looked like a burn scar curled up his forearm to his bicep.

"I insist. Stay." The shopkeeper said and the behemoth of a man grabbed Sora's shoulder.

Sora had to think fast. He gripped the heavy tome and slammed it into the man's arm with such force he could hear the fragile spine crack. The man jerked away from him in surprise, and he ducked away, running out the door clutching the book to his chest. As he sprinted out the door he heard the shopkeeper yell "AFTER HIM, YOU FOOL."

Sora pushed through the crowd, shooting off "Excuse me" and "I'm so sorry" as he ran. Checking over his shoulder, the brute was catching up to him. In a panic, Sora spotted and alleyway and jumped to it. Hoping it let out somewhere he kept running until-

"OOF!" He ran into someone, falling and  dropping the tome. He scurried to stand and looked at the person. "I'm so sorry, please you gotta help me!" He blinked up at the man, tall, long red hair tied back into a ponytail, sharp features, and wide eyed look down at Sora.

"Look, I dunno what kinda trouble you're in but I-" the man looked down the alley and sighed, "Oh, never mind. You don't have to explain." The brute came around the corner, and the man moved in front of Sora. "Not this time, pal." He snapped and a wall of flames jumped between them. 

"These won't burn anything but you, just like last time," he smirked, turning back to Sora. "They try and 'recruit' you for their little magical sideshow? Some people these days, huh?"

"Wooaaahhhhh!! You just! With the snap of your-!!” 

The redhead glanced at the wall of fire then back to Sora looking smug at the boy’s awe. This was flashier magic than Sora was used to seeing and he couldn’t help but feel like he was stepping into a world larger than he knew.

 “Yeah, pretty amazing I know.” He crossed his arms with a thin quirky smile. “You’re lucky I was here to save you, dark rescue is my middle name.”

 Sora let out a little shaky laugh. “What’s your first name?”

“Let’s save the introductions for later. Better get out of here before the old croon sends more goons after you."

Sora gathered the book tightly in his arms more than ready to leave the alley when he heard shouting on the other side of the fire. The ground and walls shuddered around him causing him to brace himself against the side of the building.

When the rumbling stopped he looked up to see a figure walking through the fire completely unfazed by the heat or flames around him. The man was also tall, slightly broad, with long blue hair and a large x shaped scar on his face. His scowl was icy and calculating, eyes darting to Sora before lingering on his rescuer.

“Of all people-” The red haired man spoke through his teeth at the sight of the newcomer. He grabbed Sora by the shoulder and pushed the boy behind him throwing Sora slightly off balance.

“You’re getting sloppy Lea.” The newcomer said coolly, gesturing to the fire behind him with a tilt of his head. He pointed at Sora and commanded in a menacing tone, “Hand him over."

“Come on Isa, he’s just a kid. Are you really going to do this?”

“Don’t ask questions you already know the answer to.”

An air of tense familiarity passed between them. Lea threw a hand in the air forcing the cocky smirk back on his face. “Hmph, well you forgot one minor detail, you powers only work at night remember? There’s no way you can beat me.”

A mean smirk reached Isa’s lips in turn; “You think so?” he reached up to where a waxing moon could faintly be seen in the sky, in his hand a strange looking claymore appeared.

“Well… that’s new.” Clicking his tongue Lea turned to Sora speaking lowly so only he could hear, “Get out of here while I distract him. Run and don’t stop ‘till you get to the fountain at the east of the city. Got it?”

Sora frowned shaking his head. “But what about you? I’m not just gonna leave y-”

Lea’s eyes flashed upwards before grabbing Sora by his pack and yanking him away from the downswing of the claymore. It smacked into the earth leaving a small crater where the two previously stood. Isa pulled it up and lifted the heavy weapon for another attack.

Lea didn’t waste any time. “Go NOW!” He barked as his fingers began twitching to create another spell. Disks of fire appeared above his open palms which sliced through the air when he hurled them at Isa, summoning disk after disk in rapid succession. The blue haired man was slow, but his claymore effectively blocked the attacks Lea casted at him.

Sora could see Lea beginning to slow down as the casting began to drain him. He was perfectly aware that without any magic he wouldn’t stand a chance against Isa, but he found himself unwilling to leave someone behind and in danger. He threw the backpack off his shoulders and searched frantically for anything that could possibly help- in the clutter of trinkets and goods the only thing that could be somewhat useful was a worn coil of rope. 

Between a break of spells Isa lunged forward again catching Lea in the shoulder as he struck a wall this time, burying his weapon in a tumble of bricks. Lea seemed to be pinned between the weapon and pile of bricks blocking his escape.

“LEA!” Sora shouted “Heat up that whateveritis!!”

Lea placed his hand on the weapon before Isa could lift it away, heating it until the metal glowed bright red. Isa pulled away from the claymore hissing as the metal burned his hands and while distracted Sora rushed forward. Sora knew he didn’t stand a chance against the man’s heavy weight, so he went low tethering the rope tightly against Isa’s legs and yanking as he bolted away, toppling the man over. Lea managed to pull himself from the rubble and threw himself on top of Isa pinning his arms behind his back preventing him from any more spell casting. Sora understood quickly and began to wrap the rope around Isa’s wrists before he and Lea were both thrown back by a surge of dark magic.

Sora’s head smacked against the ground causing the world to spin for a moment. When his vision cleared he saw glimpses of Isa picking up Lea by the collar and muttering something he couldn't descipher. Lea’s fingers twitched, the tips of them tinged black from his spells.

“L-leave him alone.” Sora demanded shakily.

Isa quirked his head to the boy, he dropped Lea back to the ground and began to walk over. Each step closer caused Sora’s heart to pound harder in his chest. He sat up facing the threat and glared despite his trembling hands and dizzy head. A light bulb from a hanging lamp on the building flashed and popped when Isa grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him up just as he did for Lea.

“Was that your magic?” Isa looked up as another light bulb flared overhead before popping out. “What a pitiful display. But Xheanort’s not picky when it comes to apprentices.”

“A- apprentice?” Sora grasped Isa by the wrists struggling in his hold, “I- won’t-,” his voice came out hoarse from the increase of pressure.

“Have a choice.” Isa finished for him.

He was being dragged back towards the wall of fire. Back to the bookshop. Back to the man with the snake like eyes who had who-knows-what planned. In a desperate attempt to get away Sora bit down hard on Isa’s hand who dropped him with a shout. Sora shielded his head from a blow Isa aimed at him and shouted one of the only words in the book he was able to read from Riku’s tome.

 “BIND!!”

A circle of light flashed from the ground halting Isa’s movement. When Sora looked at his arm, a thin white chain glowed and raced up Sora’s arm with a warm tingling sensation. Isa grunted and struggled as he tried to move forward but couldn’t seem to shake the hold.

“What are you doing?! Get up!! Move!” Lea’s voice brought him out of shock. He scooped his things and they raced out of the alley to the fountain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like what you read? Leave us a comment!
> 
> You can also find us on tumblr as Kahazel and followyourwaytodawn, so come scream at us there! ;D


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sora finally gets some answers and some surprising news...

Once safely at the three-tiered fountain, they stopped to catch their breath. Lea plopped down on the fountain's edge and let out a winded huff, "What the he- what kinda magic was that, kid?"

Sora flopped down on the ground, exhausted. He leaned against the fountain's retention wall, tome balanced on his lap. Looking at his arms, grey blotchy marks covered his the area where the chains had touched him. They almost looked like connected chains themselves, but the lines were not distinct or clear. "I... don't know. So far I've only been able to dim lights. And that was just a few days ago. I didn't even know I had magic until recently," he responded wearily, crossing his arms tightly to his chest to cover the marks.

Lea whistled, "For only a few days practice, you sure know how to step up in a... _bind_." He grinned with raised eyebrows as he delivered the line, and Sora shot him a deadpanned look. Laughing in response, Lea says, "Ooh, tough crowd. What, no jokes after near-death experiences?"

Sora shook his head, "Who were those guys? What did he mean by apprentice?"

Lea sighed heavily, "They all work for this old coot, Xehanort. The rumor is, he used to be some kinda master of magic when he was younger and people thought he was great. He took on a bunch of apprentices to teach how he handled magic. The first few became super powerful wizards and started their own schools, singing _'Master Xehanort's'_ praises." Lea scowled as he mimed air quotes around the man's name.

"Then, his apprentices started dropping like flies. And I don't mean leaving, they just whoosh- vanished. The ones who did survive just weren't the same after. The Council tried to investigate, but they couldn't find any kind of foul play."

Sora interrupted, head tilted as he questioned, "The Council? What's that?"

"Right, you're still new to this," Lea reminded himself. "They're like... a court system for magic users. To make sure we don't go crazy and start hurting people or giving magic a bad name, y'know, the works," he explained. Sora nodded. "Anyway, I didn't believe a lick of it, til I lost my best friend to him. That guy who attacked us... Isa. It was like one day he was fine and the next he comes back with a scar and a new personality. Said that I should join him, and when I refused..." Lea frowned, clenching his fists beside him.

"Hey, it's okay, I get it, you don't have to keep talking about it if you don't want to," Sora said soothingly. He tried to take in all this information, Xehanort, apprentices, a council. It was a lot to wrap his mind around. And Lea's pain. He could feel it radiating off of him in a wave of heat.

Lea sighed again, the heat dampening just a little, "Thanks. Well, anyway, you wanna tell me how you got all mixed up in this? I'm guessing it has got to do with that." He lazily motions at the book.

Sora's brow furrowed, "I just wanted to learn more, since I'm so new to this. I didn't know some jerk would try to kidnap me!"

Chuckling, Lea stood up and turned to face Sora with renewed energy, "Well, if you wanna know more, I know just the guy. And trust me, this time you won't have to bite or bind anybody."

 

 

* * *

 

Sora followed Lea across town, in the opposite direction of the market place. Apparently, Xehanort and his cronies never came to this part of town. Rumor had it that the area was protected by an old friend of his, but no one really knew what to think.

Passing large residential buildings, Sora asked about the "magic carts," which Lea informed him, were actually called trolleys. "They're basically a caravan, but they're mechanical. A lot of big cities are starting to use them."

Sora found a new wonder around every corner of the city, soon they were walking toward older buildings. More stone than wood, thinner but more ornate windows, and suddenly, Lea stopped in front of one of these buildings.

It sat proudly between two other buildings, but was decidedly bigger, being two stories. The front entryway protruded out from two wings on either side. Above the tall double door, an intricate, half-circle stained glass window sat just below the arcing cover. Each wing was perfectly symmetrical, with three tall rectangular windows on the first floor and an arched window situated between two rectangular ones on the second. Trim on the pointed roof went from chimney to chimney on the far sides of either wing.

Sora started up at it in awe; nothing like it existed in his small town. Ornate design gave away no clues to its function. "Are you just gonna stare, or are you coming inside?" Lea asked from the front steps. Sora quickly bounded up to join him.

Bookshelves lined every wall, floor to ceiling, and several set out evenly on the main floor. The room was open to the floor above, with a balcony extending out from the side and back walls. Immediately upon entering the main room, Lea shouted, "Ienzo! I've got another rescue for ya!" After a second, a flustered looking man popped his head over the balcony to the left.

"Lea, this is a library, mind your volume!" He admonished as quietly as possible across the distance. Lea just smirked up at him, and motioned Sora over to a spiral staircase in the corner.

On the way over, Lea explained that Ienzo, while not having any known magic himself, studied magic, magical history, customs, and the like. He could not teach, but he would point people in the right direction.

As they made it to the second story, Sora noticed more bookshelves against the wall, but more interesting were the tables that took up most of the area. Covered in magical artifacts, crystals, and intricately covered tomes, everything labelled and tagged and organized into categories. Sora stepped up to a table to get a closer look. Lea followed him, picking up and inspecting a glittering red crystal that caught his eye. It started producing a green smog at his touch.

"Lea, put that down! Please, how many times must I tell you?" Ienzo called, without looking up from his work two tables over.

"At least once more," Lea snickered, putting the crystal back in its place. It turned black after he let go. Sora stifled a laugh and made his way over to the other man.

Sora introduced himself and explained why he had come. Recounting his experience with Xehanort and the magic he cast, Sora showed Ienzo the marks on his arm and the tome. He opened the tome to show him the spell he had used when several pages came loose and fluttered to the floor.

"Oh, no!" Sora cried. Placing the book on the table, he knelt and collected the loose pages, "I must have wrecked it when I smacked that guy." When he righted himself, Ienzo was reading the open pages.

"Interesting. This appears to be a Witch's Spellbook, particularly of the old traditions." He very gently turned the page to examine the next, "Tell me, who is your master?"

"M-master? What do you mean by that!"

"Your teacher," Ienzo responded coolly, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh," Sora placed the loose pages on the table next to the book, "I don't... have one?"

Ienzo looked up from the tome to Sora, surprised, "Surely, you do. A tome of this nature is passed from master to apprentice over and over again." To Sora's confused expression, he responded.

"Perhaps I should explain. There are several schools of teaching magic. Wizards take on many apprentices or disciples at a time. When those apprentices learn all the master has to teach, may continue to teach in their master's methods as masters themselves. Those who do not meet the master's expectations may remain in the practice, but not take any apprentices," Ienzo paused to make sure Sora was following. Sora nodded, and he continued, "So-called Magicians are self taught, often never having a master or teacher, rather learning on their own. They can be quite good or disasterously terrible. Lea falls into this category, but the jury's still out on how good he is." Lea let out an indignant "Hey!" from the table over, where he continued to mess with Ienzo's magical collection.

Ienzo spared a small smile at his joke, but continued, "Witches, by contrast to wizards, are much more selective with their craft, especially those of the old teachings. Modern witches will take on two apprentices at a time, but both must show great promise on their own. Once they learn all their master has to teach, they must practice a year, or more is preferred, alone before taking on apprentices of their own."

Sora though of Riku, if he had to be alone for his training, that might explain a few things. "So, what's different about old witch traditions?" He questioned.

Ienzo cast his gaze to the tome then back to Sora. He paused before answering, "The relationship between a master witch of the old traditions and their apprentice is meant to be very strong. Only one apprentice is taken at a time, and no more than five in a lifetime. It has been said that a master would only take an apprentice whose talent is complementary to their own. Not necessarily the same, but two types of magic that may work together and make each other stronger. The bond between master and apprentice is meant to be so strong and trusted, that the master passes their own spellbook on to their first or most promising apprentice. This particular spellbook came from their master, and the master before, and so on."

Sora blinked, "So you're telling me I just wrecked a super old book." He groaned and covered his face with his hands, "Ohhhh, Riku's gonna be so maaad."

Ienzo cleared his throat, "What I am telling you is that this book could not have possibly been given to you on a whim. You're bound to the person who gave it to you, and in order to learn, you should return to them. Was this not explained to you?"

“Uhhhh, no? He just gave it to me and took off. He meant it as a present, something to learn magic with on my own. He never said anything about magic types or apprenticeships or any of that other stuff.”

“Highly unusual.” Ienzo pressed the crook of his finger to his lips and thought out loud, “I’ve never known a witch to just, part with their spell book before. To do something like that would the equivalent of renouncing their magical lineage.”

“If it’s so important maybe I’ll just return it.” Sora placed the book under his arm careful so as to not jostle the crooked spine or loose any more pages. “I don’t think he’d want me as an apprentice anyway. I’m a trader and travel to much and he seems more like a, a….” loner, hermit, recluse, “stay at home kind of guy...” he settled on after groping for the right words.

“You mean you were a trader. By accepting the tome you’ve accepted his offer to become his apprentice.”

“But I didn't accept! If it’s that big of a deal I’ll just return the book.”

“If you want to offend him, sure.”

“He was going to take it back, maybe he didn’t realize what he was offering.”

“Maybe maybe maybe, if if if.” Lea trotted up behind them and wrapped his lanky arms around the back of both Sora and Ienzo’s necks. “Why don’t you just go back and ask the guy? Guessing what’s on someone’s mind never works out so you might as well go to him and get some answers.”

Ienzo nodded batting off Lea’s arm from his shoulder. “Yes, I agree with Lea.”

“For once.”

The scholar spared Lea a roll of his eyes before continuing, “You need to get answers about his intentions from the source.”

“But, I have deliveries to make. My pack is full of items I've traded I can't just keep their stuff...”

Lea crossed his arms and leaned against the table, “Tough luck. Bottom line is it’s not safe for you here anyway kid. You should probably get out of Valespur for a while, ‘till the heat dies down and they lose interest. You can't go traipsing around in that part of the city unless you want to get into serious trouble again.”

Sora looked at the blotchy markings that wound around his arms. Lea had a point. It wasn't safe for him and he had no way of defending himself at the moment, but the goods can't just sit with him while their owners waited for their delivery.

“Leave the wears here.” Ienzo spoke up bringing Sora out of his mental deliberation. “I’ll make sure they’re delivered in exchange for a few spells out of the tome.”

“Spells?” Sora echoed in slight awe, “You mean you can translate them?”

“Well it won’t be easy. Quite a bit of it is written in several ancient tongues since it's been passed down through so many lines, but there are a few I can decipher with a little time. You’re welcome to stay the night while I work on the ones that I can.”

“That means he’s going to need all night to make the translations.” Lea interjected playfully which earned him a bony elbow to the ribs.

“Lea can guide you to the east exit in the morning, I'm sure he won't object.”

Sora agreed to the arrangement and smiling gratefully he thanked Ienzo and Lea for their help. He squashed the sadness of having to leave the beautiful city so soon after he arrived but inwardly agreed it was best to leave quickly and return once it was safe again. It was nice at least to have a free place to stay for the night. The library was warm and the musty smell of books was actually quite pleasant. He placed the tome gently on the table and let Ienzo set to work right away.

Lea left after a little while longer, bidding a quick goodbye and trying to cover his purple stained fingers from Ienzo’s clever eyes- hiding the fact that he accidentally dipped them in a potion while the scholar busied himself with the book.

Night came and Ienzo locked up the library. He kept a few lamps dimly lit, setting up a makeshift bed of quilts and throw pillows on the second floor for Sora in the cozy alcove of a large window. It wasn't too far from the desk where he labored to translate what he could.

“Hey Ienzo,” Sora called in a sleep heavy voice as he settled in for the night, “what do you know about, um, light magic?”

Ienzo continued writing silently for a minute before putting the quill down to answer. “It's one of the purer forms of magic. Not normally used for combat it's more useful for healing or causing status afflictions. It's also one of the rarer elements, but may come naturally to those who are able to use it. Talented light users can take light from different sources and give it shape for a limited time, few can create light of their own. Light is weak against-”

Sora turned his back to the window and peered towards the softly lit desk. “Are you reading that out of a book?” He spoke up, bringing Ienzo out of his flow of information.

“No,” Ienzo responded after another pause. Sora waited for him to continue before he heard the quill begin to scratch down notes again.

“You're really smart...” Sora continued in the middle of a yawn, “... must come with the territory.”

Ienzo chuckled a little, “I may not have magic of my own, but everything is worth learning about.” He looked down at the pages of notes he was just beginning to decipher and sighed to himself, his thoughts met the quiet snores from the boy not too far across the room. “and, perhaps one day I can work around that.”

* * *

Sora and Lea left for the eastern gates early the next morning. His farewell with Ienzo was a short one as the librarian looked utterly exhausted from translating through the night. He managed to mumble an abrupt goodbye before locking the library doors behind them to get some well earned rest. The guards at the boarder of the city didn't bother too much with the check since Sora's pack was nearly empty and they seemed tired themselves. Outside the grass was wet with dew and the air still had a slight morning chill.

“Thanks again Dark Rescue. You really helped me back there.”

“Heh, no problem. And just call me Lea, got it memorized?” Lea grinned as Sora nodded quickly. “Look me up when you come back and try to stay out of trouble, you hear?”

Lea gave Sora a hearty pat on the back which had the younger boy stumbling on the path back to Baumhain.

His pack was significantly lighter without all the goods but he didn’t find it much of a comfort. If anything the lack of weight reminded him that he would need to put trading on hold, at least until he straightened things out with Riku. Once he did, he could find another city or town nearby to explore and find new goods to trade.

When dusk settled in he walked a little off the trail to a secluded area where he could set up for the night. He chewed on some dried meat and unrolled a sleeping mat to settle down on, bringing out the tome as well and opening it on his lap.

Flipping through the book and he found scraps of paper tucked between a small handful of pages- spells Ienzo managed to translate and left copies for him. The handwriting was neat and curvy and Soras heart swelled with gratitude at the librarian’s quiet thoughtfulness.

He flipped through the pages, stopping on a simple summoning spell that caught his eye. Sora remembered Carole’s story about the magician who would make animals out of light to guide people home. The instructions looked simple enough: think of a creature, make a few hand motions, pull in light around you and shape it into the animal. The stars were out now so there wasn’t much to pull from, but maybe he could start with something small.

He closed his eyes and pictured a rabbit. But other than a slight wobble of light around his hands nothing came. Perhaps a rabbit was too big for him right now, he changed gears and imagined a field mouse. Peeking open his eyes something definitely began to form in front of him, but the creature seemed to have no defined edges- it looked more like a lump of wavering light than a mouse. Disappointment creeped up but he decided to try one more try for the night. He closed his eyes and imagined small twinkling fireflies with fluttering wings. When he looked hopefully around he saw one, perfectly formed firefly resting on the tip of his finger. The light that the bug emitted was a gentle pale blue, almost like Sora plucked a star from the sky and gave it life.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Returning back to where this whole thing started, a cute flower shop and a ornery witch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry we took so long to get this one out! Life got a little busy! Hope you enjoy the new chapter!!

Sora continued to practice every night on his way back to Baumhain. He worked on the fireflies, no bigger than a copper coin. For now, that was all he could manifest. They left faint markings on his fingertips in the same shapes as he formed his light.

While travelling in daylight, he took a moment to study the marks, and how different they were from the ones on his arms. They were a dull grey that was only shades lighter than his skin tone, the lines clear and thin. On his arms, the marks stained his forearms like bruises. The greys ranged in tone and size, blotches resembling chain links, but nowhere near as formed as the magic he had summoned. Did magic always leave marks?

Just another mystery on top of the dozens he was awarded when Riku passed him the spellbook. He had not seen any on Lea from his casting. Sora realized he should have asked Ienzo while he had the encyclopedia of a man with him.

On the third evening of his journey, he tried for something slightly larger, a beetle he had seen crawling on a rock earlier that day. The light fizzled at his fingertips, snapping and sparking as Sora concentrated. His brow furrowed and he bit at the edges of his lip in frustration as he lost the light again. Sighing, he looked up and found the sun had mostly faded from the sky. He tried summoning light once more, but it just formed into a miniscule ball of light before popping out of existence. Exhaustion crashed over him like a wave. He layed back in his makeshift camp and was asleep in seconds.

When he woke the next morning, he did not feel very rested. He packed up and got back on the road all the same. Having a empty of product made his journey easier, but this exhaustion was bone-deep. He all but dragged himself to Baumhain over the next two days.

He was looking so forward to seeing Carole again. He hoped that he might be able to stay with her again, but if her son was home, he would have to find other lodging. That could prove to be a problem. No inns existed in Baumhain. Maybe Carole could convince a friend? A barn would suffice if nothing else. Sora figured he was amiable enough to get along with horses for a night or two...

Soon, he saw the small entrance to the town and smiled to himself. Finally, he would sort things out with the witch then see if Carole would mind having him over for dinner again on such short notice.

Passing through the gate, he said hello to the watchman, who returned a half hearted wave. Sora made his way toward the end of town where the flower shop sat, nestled shallowly into the woods that bordered the town. He stopped outside the shop and took a deep breath to steady himself for this interaction. Pushing open the door-

"What in the name of Gaia do you think you're doing?!"

Sora had barely stepped one foot into the shop when Riku's voice came at him at him with force. Stunned, he stood with one hand up holding open the door and stance frozen mid-gait, "Wh-what?"

Riku surged forward, grabbing onto Sora's wrist, "Let me see. What did you do, where is it? I could sense your broken aura over a mile away."

Standing dumbstruck, Sora let out a very intelligent, "Huh? I don-"

"The marks, you idiot. Where are the marks?" Riku turned his arm over and gasped taking in the splotchy markings that had yet to fade even a little, "And you're still alive? How? The amount of damage-" Sora yanked his arm away from Riku.

"What are you even talking about?" He shouted, stepping into Riku's space. Judging by his startled expression, Riku had not expected the outburst. Sora continued, despite the other man's attempts to step away, "It's your book that got me into this mess! I go searching for help, only to get attacked and dragged around, ran all over a city to learn something, _anything_ about magic. And then, I find out that because of this stupid book, you're supposed to train me, only to come back and have you say I'm _damaged_?! Please take five minutes to explain yourself and save us both a whole lot of trouble!"

Sora had not meant to shout, but the stress of his journey made him weary, and he had had enough manhandling in Valespur to last him a lifetime. He was tired, grumpy, ready for rest and to see Carole's warm smile. Tired of all this convoluted mess.

"You were attacked... because of me?"

The tone caught him off guard, for it held none of the admonishment with which Riku typically spoke. It sounded like genuine concern. Sora's anger faltered, but he nodded, "Yeah, by some guy with a bunch of magical goons. He kinda tried to kidnap me because I showed him the book. I used a spell, bind."

Riku's eyebrows shot up, " _Bind_? But that is so... what happened to the flowers? I marked the pages of spells you could safely use. Bind is so out of your range, it is a miracle you're still standing. You must be exhausted." He did not make eye contact; he seemed to be staring off into space somewhere above Sora's left shoulder. Eyes distant, as if lost in thought.

"Flowers? You mean the dried up one in the book? That's what they meant?" Sora asked, exasperated. Riku could have just told him what spells were safe. He was really beginning to tire of Riku's lacking communication skills when the man spoke again.

In a quiet voice, Riku asked, "...May I see your arm again, please?" Holding out his hand, palm up.

Sora hesitantly held out his forearm to Riku, unsure of the of the change his tone. Wasn't this the part where Riku shouted back at him to get out? Where was that sour attitude from before?

Gently, Riku cradled Sora's forearm in his left hand and tugged down the wrist of his glove with his right. After he had exposed most of the markings, he used two fingers slowly trace the line of them from the crease of Sora's elbow to the base of his hand. Sora found this too intimate a gesture for their current predicament, but could not make himself pull away. The intensity of Riku's eyes tracing along the line as if reading the turn of events that put them there.

"The wound is... deep. But I think I can do something about it," the witch said quietly. Letting go of Sora's forearm, he turned and strode back to the shop counter. Riku ducked down, pulling out a flat case and placed it on the countertop.

Sora followed him and stood on the opposite side of the counter, questioning, "What are you doing?"

"Practicing my craft," he responded with a small smile. He plucked open the latches on the case, and a light clinking of glass jars sounded as he opened it. Hand poised above the small jars, Riku mumbled to himself until he found what he was looking for. He pinched out two dried plants, a sprig of a purple flower and a flat, three- pointed leaf.

"Come here," Riku beckoned Sora to stand next to him. Instructing him further, Riku turned so he and Sora faced each other, "Take off your glove, and hold out your arm like you did earlier. You're going to feel lightheaded, try not to fall."

When Sora held out his right arm, hand palm up, Riku placed the leaf in his hand. Then, he held it there by taking Sora's hand in his own, thumb pressed to the leaf. With his right hand, he took the dried flower and gently pressed it just behind Sora's left ear, closing his eyes.

Sora swallowed; the way Riku was holding him felt... They were not close enough for this. Sora felt tingling behind his ear and looked down at his arm. A new mark was forming! It looked like a vine shot out from the leaf. It was wrapping itself around the mark left from Sora's spell!

"Amazing," Sora whispered, as the tiredness seemed to ease from his body. Right as he opened his mouth to say thank you, a wave over dizziness swept over him. He thought he could handle it, but he soon found himself on the floor.

* * *

 Riku rushed forward to pick Sora up off the ground. He turned him over and saw boy’s eyes flutter in resistance but eventually succumbed to exhaustion and remained limp in Riku’s arms.

Riku carried Sora to the back rooms and took some time to lay him among the pillows of his neatly made bed. His mind whirled with unsorted emotions that he tried to systematically sort though: frustration that Sora didn’t understand the meaning of the flowers, guilt that he was put in danger because of his book, irritation that nothing seemed to be simple with the sleeping boy was involved, and a small part of him was impressed that someone- whos magic was only just realized- was able to perform a binding spell. Several other spells successful spells too judging by the healthier marks on his fingertips. It reminded him of the first time he tried to use magic beyond his limit and what a painful disaster that turned out to be. Impatient with the growth of his hawthorn tree he tried to force it into full maturity so he could collect some bark and berries, but he ended up damaging the plant and nearly ruining both his arms because of the magical imbalance in the process. It was one of the few times his master reprimanded him forcefully since the damage to his body was so extensive.

He felt a twinge of pain at the memory of his departed master- an echo of emptiness from their broken bond that would sometime ache when he didn’t busy himself with work or was far from the whispers of his plants for too long.

He left the room and decided to close the shop a little early to figure out what was to be done next. After locking up he took out an empty pot from behind his counter and busied himself so he could think, scooping in soil to repot sproutlings. Maybe he could send Sora to a master to train… Merlin was a good option, though he was far in the north and according to the grapevines the wizard just took the apprenticeship of a promising young servant boy. Perhaps Cid in the west could take him, but he was often busy with his pursuits of melding magic and technology, and there was the question if their types would be compatible.

“That’s one serious expression you’ve got there.”

Riku startled, looking up to see Kairi sitting on the counter smiling at him. She wore a purple dress that flowed to her knees with yellow flowers embroidered by hand on the bottom. Her hair seemed to be recently trimmed so it rested just above her shoulders. The scuffed black boots gave away her playful nature- they had patches of dried mud on them and one of them was unlaced.

“Kairi!” He cleared his throat embarrassed that he was caught off guard. “Hello Kairi. I’m afraid I can’t attend to you today, did you not see the closed sign on the door?” He asked bluntly though Kairi seemed to take no offence.

“I did. Actually I was sitting here the whole time and saw you place it.” She swung her legs a little and hid a smile behind her hand at a quick shift of stupor in his expression. “Grandma sent me over a little while ago. She said you need me right about now is everything alright?”

Riku went back to scooping more soil into the small ceramic pot avoiding her curious gaze. “Your grandmother always seems to have impeccable timing when it comes to my affairs.” He muttered childishly making Kairi laugh. The sound was soft, like a chime of bells, and one Riku liked to hear.

“Well, she says it’s her gift, and she’s never been too shy to pry which I know you know as well.” She hopped down the counter and stood beside him. Her hair created a red curtain as she tilted her head to see more of his face. “So what’s weighing you down?” She prodded gently.

He placed the scoop down and spoke like it was a painful admittance. “I… I have a boy in my bed.”

Kairi blinked at him. “Oh. That’s... so unlike you.”

“It’s not-!!” Riku closed his eyes and willed his composure back to explain. “It’s not like that. He’s ill.”

He explained what happened as plainly as he could while Kairi listened attentively.

“It’s not like I meant to activate his powers, how could I have possibly known they’d be complimentary?” Kairi only shrugged so he continued. “I’m thinking of sending him to a master so he can be a proper apprentice.”

“From what you told me, that would be you.” She said plainly.

Riku shook his head. “Giving him the tome, it, it was an accident. I’m not fit to teach anyone, I never rightfully finished training myself, I don’t even know what traditions or methods wizards have.”

“Well, personally I think he might be good for you.” She said simply. “I’ve never seen you get so worked up about someone else before and your plants seem to like him. See?”

Riku’s eyes followed where Kairi pointed. One of the vines from a hanging ivy that usually pooled around the floor in a neat spiral now trailed down the hallway. Kairi and Riku exchanged glances before moving to follow its path. It lead them out of the main shop, down the hall and into his bedroom where it coiled around Sora’s shoulder’s and sleeping face. It was a curious and fascinating gesture, the plant seemed, quite happy to rest there.

“How did it do that?”

“I don’t know.” He looked around the room to see the other plants in his room minutely inching or turning towards the sleeping boy like they were trying to face the sun. “It's never happened before…”

“Well, at least he’s cute. They have good taste.”

Riku broke away from his observings and shooed her out of his room and back to the shop. Before they could get to the door Kairi forced his attention as she ground her heels into the floor to stop his pushing and spun around to look him in the eye, the honest and open look she gave him almost made him uncomfortable.

“I’m sure what you decide will be for the best, you always do the right thing in the end, but grandma seems to think you two crossed paths for a reason and, to be honest I can kind of see why.” Seeing Riku was about to resist she placed a finger on his lips to shush him and continued. “Riku, I'm saying this as your friend, you should consider teaching him, and then talk about it together before making any choices for him.”

Kairi’s eyes briefly shimmered with something Riku saw often in Carole’s eyes, something he couldn’t quite place as magic but could be something similar. It reminded him of light hitting an ocean wave and he found it easy to trust.

“I’ll... consider it.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riku makes a decision about Sora's training. Sora heals up and has a lot of questions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your kind words and sticking with us. We are absolutely overwhelmed by the response to this fic, and we appreciate every single comment and kudo y'all leave. ♡

After Kairi left, Riku busied himself with cleaning up the shop. He placed the newly potted plants in the large shop windows, so they could catch the sun's first rays as it rose... or whenever Sora was roused from his sleep. He looked around the shop to find all his plants beginning to face towards the back room. Could be a sign-   
  
He shook his head, ponytail thrown back over his shoulder blades with the motion. That was out of the question. He wasn't even a full fledged witch himself; he could not feasibly teach another person. Scowling, Riku's thoughts spiraled from there his unfinished training, his missing master, this new and unwanted situation.    
  
A small whisper of magic fluttered through him and fizzled out, causing Riku to look at the pot in his hand. "Oh..." he sighed, realizing his mood had likely drained the poor sprout. "I'm sorry little one, please forgive me," he said quietly as he pushed new life into the sprout. Hearing it hum, Riku set the pot down in the display window.   
  
He figured Sora would not wake for several more hours, so Riku went about preparing the shop for the next day. He watered plants, spoke to his flowers, plucked dying leaves, mixed fertilizer into soil. All the while, he tried to come to a decision about what he could do with Sora. Riku was so deep in thought, he hadn't realized he walked back to the doorway of his room after finishing his chores. He blinked and focused on Sora's sleeping face.   
  
He looked so unbothered. Sleeping peacefully as if he had not been yelling and angry and demanding answers just hours ago. Riku shook his head with an amused huff. Maybe Kairi was right, this man might end up being just what he needed.    
  
That thought startled the witch. Frowning, he set about to tidy the extra room. Once Sora woke, Riku would show him the "guest room" if he decided to stay. It hadn't been used in years, many years, but it could easily be cleaned. There was no extra bed though, so he might have to use a pile of blankets on the floor for a while. Alternatively, he could use Terra's old room-   
  
Riku immediately halted that train of thought. He had sealed up that room when he realized his old master was not coming back. Disappeared and abandoned him. Not that it had stopped him from looking, though. Three years of disappointment around every turn caused Riku to seal away any reminders of his former master. He closed the room, remade the shop, distanced himself from other magical folk. Well, folk in general, as people in this town seemed to know everyone else's business.    
  
He shoved a drawer closed much harder than was necessary. Why now of all times. Riku though he was done and over with all of these feelings. His life continued on, so why should he dwell? Unfortunately, he knew that no matter how much he tried to forget, he would never be completely rid of those memories. Some still managed to be very dear to him, even after Terra as a whole become a sore topic.   
  
While he was dusting off the dresser with a cloth, Riku heard a sudden thump from the other room. He dropped the cloth and quickly made his way to his own bedroom to find Sora groaning on the floor.   
  
"Hey, you are in no state to be upright! Sit back down!" Riku strode over and grabbed his arm, helping Sora stand. He gently pushed his shoulders, urging him back to bed.   
  
"I thought I was okay! Geez, sorry, I'm moving, I'm moving!" Sora shot back, as he was pushed.  Settling down again. He eyed the room, intrigued by the vines creeping on the floors, wall, nearly everywhere. The scent of lavender and chamomile hung in the air in a relaxing compliment to the otherwise earthy smell the room carried from being connected to the shop. "Uh... where am I?"   
  
Riku didn't look at Sora as he answered, "My bedroom. You... fainted. Now listen, you should not be doing anything for at least another hour. And I should warn you, no magic until that fully heals." Riku pointed to Sora's ivy-marked arm.   
  
"Heals? But, I'm not injured?" Sora looked over his arm with confusion written all over his face.   
  
"May I sit?" Riku asked, and Sora responded with a nod. Riku sat himself on the edge of the bed before continuing, "Magical wounds are different. You have overexerted yourself and as a result your body is... shall we say, 'bleeding' magic. Your body and new power are conflicting with each other, and it is draining you physically. It should heal now that I've stitched up the wound." Riku gestured at the ivy lacing its way up Sora's arm.   
  
Running his fingers over the marks, Sora asked, "So no magic til I'm better? How are you going to train me, then?!"   
  
Riku chuckled quietly, and Sora's head snapped up, catching the small smile that graced his features. "I hate to say but, the same way my master taught me. You must be in some kind of harmony with your magic without using it first, or it will tear you apart," Riku stated bluntly. "I do not know what immediately relates to light based magic, but it seems my friends are drawn to you," he looked to the foxglove and lavender on his shelf, as both flowers had turned leaned toward Sora. The vines around the room had also changed their direction to creep slowly towards him.   
  
After a look around the room, Sora figured that there was a point to this. If he couldn't use magic, he had to start somewhere, and it might as well be here. Sighing, he leveled his gaze on Riku and said, "Okay. What do I have to do?"

“For now you rest. Focus on healing. Once your arm is healed we will begin with exercises to help you find your magic.”

“Find my magic? I thought I already found it, isn’t that what got me here in the first place?”

Sora tilted his head, a gesture Riku found shockingly endearing. He stood up from his bed patting imaginary dust off his trousers looking anywhere but at Sora directly.

“It’ll make sense once I start guiding you. But just so you are aware this isn’t an official apprenticeship. I’m just going to point you in the right direction so an accident like this doesn’t happen again. We’ll eventually find you a master to bond with and start a formal training but I’ll get into that later. For now, just, stay here and rest up. You  _ can  _ stay still for more than a few minutes right?”

Sora gave him a mock salute before flopping back down on the soft pillows and blankets. The motion sent the strand of ivy in the air only to come down and land on his face with a light smack. He gingerly picked it up between two fingers and placed it back on the bed where it originally laid. “I never thought I’d say this, but your plants are really cuddly. Did you give them enough hugs while they grew up?”

Riku snorted and gathered the ivy to bring back to the shop.

* * *

 

Sora rose a little earlier than usual the next day. Riku was right, that extra rest made him feel much better both in body and in spirit- sleeping in beds was such a luxury. Sitting up he took a moment to examine his arm. The vine wrapping around the splotchy bruises was a light slightly silver color that faintly shimmered when he rotated his wrist catching the sunlight, it was kind of pretty. His fingertips had a few markings that were uncovered by the ivy, light golden spots that he didn’t notice before. It reminded him how Axel had markings on his fingertips as well when he casted spells, black, like he touched coal or soot.

He decided it was as good a time as any to get up. He found Riku in the main shop re-arranging some pots on the shelves and greeted cheerily, “Morning!”

Riku greeted him with a less enthusiastic nod. “There's bread and an apple on the counter.”

“Oh. Umm, thanks.”

Sora ate the apple and picked at the bread, trying to observe Riku without being too obvious. The light haired man had his hair braided, when he bent down several strands of his bangs that became loose would fall over his face, though he didn’t seem to mind as they covered his eyes. He seemed to mutter to the plants while he  scrupulously  turned them this way or that, before giving them a little water and moving on.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Sora asked once he swallowed the last of the bread and wiped his hand on his trousers.

Riku didn’t stop his fiddling to answer. “No.”

The younger man shifted uncomfortably before trying again. “Well what can I do? Maybe I can sweep, or help outside in the garden?”

“I don’t need help, focus on healing. And don’t touch anything.”

Sora crossed his arms and plopped on the stool next to the counter. It was early for bickering but, despite their little heart to heart last night, it seemed Riku was back to being his difficult self again. “Can I touch this stool? Or the floor, can I walk on the floor?” He pulled his feet up with him on the stool teasingly. “Can you make me float with magic so I don’t touch anything? Actually, that sounds kind of fun, I’ve always wanted to fly. Can witches fly?”

Riku shot Sora a humorless look before grabbing an old tin pail and stalked out of the shop.

“Hey wait I was just... kidding.” Sora mumbled at the door rubbing the back of his neck when the door snapped shut. He signed and leaned on the counter, poking the leaves of a potted aloe plant dejectedly. “So much for guidance. I can’t even breathe without setting him off. Is he always like this in the mornings?” He pressed an ear curiously to the plant, wondering if it would talk back like it seemed to do with Riku, but pulled back feeling a little silly when he heard nothing. Nevertheless he gave the plant a light pat and stood up. “I guess I’ll go to town and send a letter, Lea and Ienzo would probably want to know I got here safely. And maybe Carole’s home. At least she likes me.”

Unfortunately he learned from her neighbors that Carole was out of town for the birth of her newest grandchild. He managed to find the post and mail a letter for a simple copper coin. The letter was brief, it hadn’t been too long since he left Valespur and he didn’t know what else to say other than he arrived and was sorting things out, neglecting to mention his magical wounds so his new friends wouldn’t worry.

He wandered around town familiarizing himself with the small market, exploring an old chapel and  returned to the cottage just a few hours before the sun began to set. As he approached the shop he spotted Riku attending a customer through the window. A young lady balancing two pots of hydrangeas in her left arm and was pointing to a vial of potion on a shelf behind the counter. He seemed to have the same sour expression on his face, lips barely moving as he answered the woman’s questions but she seemed unbothered. When she waved goodbye with a small smile Sora approached the door, opening it for her before he entering.

“Hey.” Sora greeted cautiously as he approached the counter.

“There you are.” Riku answered, face still tight but seemed relieved at Sora’s return, like a string that was holding up his shoulders lost a bit of its tension. “You’ve been gone all day.”

“I just went into town for a few things.” Sora returned defensively. “Should I have left a note?” 

“You’re healing. Your magic needs to balance out. You’ll only be making yourself stay longer the more you exert yourself.” Riku reflexively casted a guilty glance at Sora’s freshly marked arm without thinking.

“Relax I’ve always healed quickly it’s not like I was dying.” Sora concluded with finality. When Riku didn’t affirm his conclusion he paused for a moment thinking the worst. “Wait,  _ was  _ I dying??”

Riku shook his head keeping back an amused snort. “No you were not dying.”

Sora heavily placed a hand on his heart and sighed in relief. “Oh Astrals, good. Then like I said there’s no problem!”

Riku shook his head and walked towards the back rooms motioning Sora to follow. They walked into a simple kitchen, a small wood burning stove oven with two burners on top, a deep sink with a handful of dishes piled in and a window above it adorned with a few potted succulents drinking in the last light of day- it seemed there was no room in the home where plants could not be found. 

Sora was made aware to emptiness of his stomach at the smell of baked vegetables wafting in the air. Surprised, Sora accepted a plate with a thank you and the two sat down to eat roasted red potatoes, zucchini, squash and cherry tomatoes.

The vegetables were warm, soft and delicious, he couldn’t help but smile as he chewed. “So since you’re a plant witch, eating vegetables isn’t considered cannibalism is it?”

Riku choked on his potato and took some sips of water to wash it down before he responded. “No, why would you even think that?”

Sora thought he offended Riku,  _ again, _ until he saw the humored look Riku was giving him once he sat the glass down. It was an upgrade from the scrutinous/judgemental/annoyed looks he was tired of getting.

Riku continued on, “Are you going to avoid sunlight because you’re a light witch?”

“And miss things like going outside and watching sunsets, not a chance.” He responded smiling at his plate before looking up again. “Was anyone else in your family a witch?”

“I don’t know.”

“Oh.” Sora said lamely before spooning another mouthful of tomatoes. Riku seemed used to living alone; there were no pictures of relatives on the walls or anyone in town who shared his fair complexion from what he observed. He wondered if Riku had a family, but swallowed the question down along with his tomatoes.

Riku stood up now finished with his meal and took the plate to the sink. Sora seemed to have a lot on his mind as he pushed the last few vegetables around with his fork. “I have a bed frame you can use and plenty of blankets I just need to get another mattress but I think I know someone in town who has a spare they’re willing to trade for if you’re willing to run an errand. You’re wounds are looking healthy, after tomorrow I think we can get started.”

“Shyes!!” Sora stood up eagerly. “I, I mean, sure! Yes I can do that, you can count on me.” He puffed out his chest and gave a determined salute.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave us a comment if you liked it!
> 
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